


Gossip

by KlavierWrites



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, School Trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-23 15:41:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11992812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KlavierWrites/pseuds/KlavierWrites
Summary: If the conversation about what kind of girls Akira liked had gone a little differently.





	Gossip

**Author's Note:**

> I literally just reached the Hawaii trip on my P5 playthrough, and had to write this. No major plot spoilers, but spoilers for the school trip event (obviously.)

With Mishima out of the room, and the evening having essentially become a slumber party, Akira was unsurprised when the conversation turned to dating.

He stared at the ceiling from his place on the sofa and listened to Ryuji stumble over a question about whether looks or personality was more important. Once Ann was satisfied, she turned to Akira. “So what kind of girls do you like?”

He could keep it simple, make something up about a good personality and get ribbed like Ryuji had, or go straight for ‘hot body’ and make Ann shout at him. He could tailor his answer to sound like it was about one of the girls in the Phantom Thieves, say just enough that they’d be left guessing at which member of the group he was talking about. Or he could just tell the truth — part of it, anyway. He was too tired to be creative, so he went with the final option.

“Artists,” he said.

“Ooh, the artistic type?” said Ryuji, “I can see that. They always dress the cutest.”

“I know a couple of girls in the art club,” said Ann, “I could set you up?”

Akira shook his head. Ann was well-meaning, but even if he was interested in being set up, (which he very much was not, thank you, particularly not with a girl) Ann’s taste was definitely not Akira’s.

“Why not?” said Ryuji. “Have you already got your eye on someone?”

“Maybe,” said Akira. He was going for mysterious, but his voice wavered, giving the game away.

He heard the bed springs squeak as Ann turned to look at him properly and covered his face with his hands. There was no way he was blushing, he was the leader of the Phantom Thieves and a juvenile delinquent on probation, he did not blush when he talked about the boy he liked. Only apparently he did. Ann laughed. “Oh, my god, you totally do! Spill — what’s she like?”

Akira took a deep, steadying breath. His cheeks were aflame, and he wanted nothing more to end this conversation. But the two of them would keep asking, he knew, and he didn’t want to snap at them and ruin the mood. So, eyes trained on the ceiling and grateful he couldn’t see his friends’ faces, he spoke.

“Tall,” he said, “Taller than me, even.”  

Ryuji whistled. “Dude,” he said, “didn’t peg you for the type.”

“Shut up,” said Ann, “Go on, Akira.”

“Uh,” he said, “Blueish hair. Slim. Great eyelashes. Really artistic, like I said. And – uh – a bit eccentric, but in a good way.”

Ryuji snorted, “It sounds like you’re talking about Yusuke.”

“Do we know them?” said Ann, and Akira noticed she’d switched to gender neutral pronouns. He rolled onto his side, finally looking at his friends in the dim light of the hotel room.

“Yes,” he said.

There was a very long pause, and then Ryuji finally got it. “Shit,” he said, peering up at Akira from the floor with wide eyes, “you really are talking about Yusuke!”

“This stays between us,” said Akira, which was apparently enough for Ann to believe it.

“Oh, wow,” she said, “this is turning into a better gossip session that I could have hoped.”

Ryuji groaned. “Yusuke, though?”

Akira rubbed is nose where his glasses usually sat. “He’s hot and clueless and I want to protect him.”

“That's weirdly adorable,” said Ann, “you should tell him.”

“Not happening,” said Akira.

“No, you should! I'm sure he’d be interested, or at the very least flattered.”

“But you’ll have to be real direct with him,” said Ryuji, “God knows the guy doesn't pick up on subtleties.”

Akira sighed, turning onto his back to face the ceiling again. “I don't even know if he likes guys.”

Ryuji snorted, “Are you kidding? That boy screams ‘gay.’”

“Ryuji,” scolded Ann, “we don't actually know that.”

“But come on, his whole vibe—”

“Stop it,” she said sharply. And then, to Akira, “You should just ask him. He won't get offended if you tell him about you, first.”

“Oh yeah,” said Ryuji, “you should invite him to go to the beach with you tomorrow or something. Keep it casual.”

“Ooh, at sunset! That’d be so romantic.”

“Am I asking him if he's into men or asking him to go out with me in this scenario?”

Before Ann could reply, there was a groan from the bathroom.

“Mishima’s been in there a while,” said Ryuji. “Think he’s alright?”

Another groan. Clearly not. Ann sighed. “I think I saw him drinking the tap water earlier. Come on, let's go check on him.”

Half an hour later, when Ann was rubbing Mishima’s back as he heaved over the toilet and Ryuji was complaining loudly, Akira thought about it.

And when they were finally all back in bed, Ryuji snoring on the floor and the sound of the sea drifting in through the window, Akira took out his phone and texted Yusuke, asking if he'd like to go on a walk along the beach the following evening.


End file.
